


Names on Coffee Cups

by douxii



Series: nikimayo blurbs [3]
Category: Ensemble Stars! (Video Game)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Alternate Universe - Non-Famous, Can be read as gen, Gen, M/M, Not Beta Read, niki still never went to high school tho, niki tries to get mayoi to tell him his first name, or proofread, prompt from otp prompt generator, that's it. that's the fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-05
Updated: 2021-02-05
Packaged: 2021-03-17 17:07:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 837
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29228949
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/douxii/pseuds/douxii
Summary: In which Niki works at a café and Mayoi is a regular, but Niki doesn't know how to spell Mayoi's name.
Relationships: Ayase Mayoi/Shiina Niki
Series: nikimayo blurbs [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2145882
Comments: 2
Kudos: 18





	Names on Coffee Cups

It started with Niki not being able to spell this one customer’s name.

Per custom, he is required to ask the customer for the name on their order to make it distinct. This was never an issue until Ayase Mayoi came alone. How the fuck do you even spell Ayase? Niki still doesn’t know.

The first time it wasn’t necessarily his fault, as the customer seemed a bit shy and it was very hard to hear what he was saying.

  
  


“Good afternoon! Welcome to Café Cinnamon, what can I get for you?”

“…”

“Sir?”

It took Niki a moment to realize that the customer was indeed saying something and not totally ignoring him, he’s just really quiet.

“Sorry, what was that,” Niki chuckles, albeit politely and gently, not wanting to spook the boy. He leans in a little bit closer to hear him better.

Suddenly the purple haired boy’s head snaps up to face him, “A-A small mocha cold brew please!” He slaps a hand over his mouth and a deep blush covers his cheeks.  _ How cute.  _ Niki smiles fondly.

“Coming right up. Is that all?” The boy nods in haste, hand still covering his mouth. “Alright. And what’s the name on this order?”

The boy mumbles incoherently, once again.

“Sorry, I couldn’t hear you. Could you please say that again?”

“A-Ayase…”

Niki nods, grabs a sharpie, and begins to write the name on the cup before realizing he has no idea how to fuck to spell that. Not wanting to trouble the boy any further, he’s clearly already been through enough, he tries his damn hardest to spell it on his own (and fails).

  
  


The next time Niki had seen this customer in his store, he had what he assumed was a friend with him. The boy was much shorter and also had purple hair. Ayase seemed a lot more relaxed this time than he had prior.

  
  


“Good morning! Welcome to Café Cinnamon, what can I get for you two today?” Niki half expected the shorter boy to order on Ayase’s behalf, so he was quite surprised when the taller boy spoke up instead.

“Um, a small Americano… please.”

“You’re not getting anything for yourself?” Ayase shakes his head, blushing every so slightly, probably at now having two eyes on him.

“One small Americano coming right up! Will that be all?”

Niki gets no response and instead sees the other purple-haired boy elbowing Ayase gently.

“Come on, you got this, you’re doing so well!” He grins at his friend.

“Y-Yes, that is all,” Ayase stares intently at the counter, gloved hands clenching at his shirt.

“Alright! What’s the name on the order?” Niki remembers, but he wants to hear it one more time to hopefully get a better understanding of how to spell it. And maybe, hopefully, he’ll say it clearer this time now that he has someone with him.

“Ayase,” the response, like Niki had hoped,  _ does  _ come out clearer, but he still can’t figure out how to spell it.

“Could you spell that for me?” Niki decides to ask this time, not feeling as bad.

Ayase spells out his name for him but now Niki is just confused. Does this not say Reise? He decides not to say anything, content that he finally knows how to spell this boy’s name.

  
  


The third time he sees the purple-haired boy at the café, he decides three times is enough to get a little bit more comfortable.

  
  


“Good afternoon, Ayase-san, was it! What can I get for you today?”

Ayase seems startled that he had remembered his name. Niki is glad that whatever nerves he could see have instantly vanished.

“A-Ah, hello~... Um, a small mocha cold brew… please…”

“Got it! Would that be all?” Niki makes sure to flash him his biggest grin, hoping to convey somewhat that he is proud of him for making it this far just fine. Ayase nods.

Niki opts to not ask for his name since the boy now knows that he remembers it anyway. However, instead of spelling it like Ayase had instructed him the last time, he purposely misspells it.

After processing the order, Niki watches him to see his reaction to the spelling on the cup.

He doesn’t get much of a reaction, but can’t help but notice the subtle deflation in Ayase’s posture as he walks out the door, which Niki deems a success.

  
  


This happens a few more times, Ayase orders the same small mocha cold brew, and Niki continuously spells his name wrong, changing it up a little bit every time, in the hopes that he will eventually correct him.

And he does.

  
  


“It’s a lovely morning Ayase-san! Just the usual?”

The boy nods and Niki reaches for a sharpie and a cup.

“Um, b-by the way… It’s actually spelled…” Ayase spells his name the way he had a few visits prior, before ultimately giving up.

“You know what, um, actually,” Ayase gulps. “You can just call me Mayoi.”

Mission success. Niki grins.

“Mayo-chan, got it!”

**Author's Note:**

> this was partially a reference to aira having trouble pronouncing ayase because it isn't written in katakana
> 
> [twitter](https://twitter.com/ALKALO1D)


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